Saturday, June 28, 2008

A new research brief from the Centre for Marriage and Families finds that church going men have happier marriages than other men:

For men, 70 percent of husbands who attend church regularly report they are “very happy” in their marriages, compared to 59 percent of husbands who rarely or never attend church. . . In addition, a study of urban relationships found that men’s religious attendance was a better predictor of women’s relationship satisfaction than women’s own religious attendance.

That's huge! In other words 18% (70/59) more church going men (in America) have very happy marriages than men who stay home. Naturally these men had marriages that were more likely to last:

Specifically, data from the NSFH indicate that men and women who attended religious services regularly (several times a month or more) were approximately 35 percent less likely to divorce between 1988 and 1993, compared to their married peers who rarely or never attended religious services. Catholics, Mainline Protestants, and Jews who attended services regularly were especially likely to avoid divorce, compared to churchgoing evangelical Protestants and black Protestants. In all probability, low Catholic divorce rates are linked to Catholic teaching about the importance of marital permanence.

Yay Catholics!

Finally, the research shows that church going men spend more time with their children including helping with group activities:

Compared to dads who say they have no religious affiliation, fathers who attendchurch regularly (several times a month or more) devote at least two hours aweek more in youth-related activities, such as helping in Boy Scouts, coachingsoccer, and leading a church youth group.

So men, want a happier marriage? Get to church! Women and mothers want a happier marriage, get your husband to church. The data show he'll thank you for it.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Abortions are at record numbers again in Britain, with a 4 percent rise and ever younger girls having "terminations" instead of giving birth. Statistics released today show that 205,598 British children were killed before birth in 2007, up from 201,173 in England and Wales during 2006.

The number of abortions among young girls also jumped significantly, with 13-to-15 year olds aborting at 4.4 per thousand, and under-18s aborting at a rate of 19.8 per thousand.

These statistics mean that nearly one-quarter of pregnancies in England and Wales end in abortion.

This is bad news for Britain and quite honestly I was shocked, especially when the most recent Canadian numbers showed a much more enouraging trend. England has just over 60 million people, less than twice Canada's population of 33 million, but the total number of abortions in England was more than 2.1 times the 96,815 unborn children that were killed in Canada.

Perhaps young women in Britain should look to Canadians as an example. Only 13.8 per thousand Canadian young women under the age of 20 had an abortion in 2005.

In a sad and frustrating statement on Africa, Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of Zimbabwe's main oppositon party decided not to contest a run off election after president Mugabe's thugs continued months of violence and blocked a major rally. Tsvangirai summed up his reasons succinctly saying, "We in the MDC* cannot ask [people] to cast their vote on the 27th when that vote would cost them their lives."

Here in North America, we take our democracy for granted. In many African countries it is extremely fragile. Zimbabwe is a country with incredible potential, and yet at least 70 opposition supporters have been killed over the past several weeks by agents of Zimbabwe's government. Although the blame clearly rests with Mugabe himself and those around him that have enriched themselves while ruining the country, it's all the more maddening because it could have been prevented if the international community, particularly South Africa had pressured Mugabe out when he lost the last election in March.

For all the talk about sending help to Africa this is a moment when something can be done. South Africa should close the border to all trade with Zimbabwe until Mugabe steps down. Western governments should take every means possible to isolate Mugabe, fortify the opposition, and support Zimbabwe's other neighbouring countries such as Zambia that have already been working to end this crisis.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

I wonder how much the Conservatives are paying Stephane Dion. This Carbon Tax idea must be one of the biggest strategic blunders the Liberals have made with Dion as leader, and that is saying something.

First off, Dion is going to lose more of whatever miniscule amount of credibility he has left. He earlier promised not to introduce a carbon tax, so the conservatives have easily charged that he broke his word.

Second he has left himself wide open to the claim that he's trying to raise taxes. The conservatives have rightly labeled the idea as a permanent new tax, and I don't think anyone will believe that this plan won't increase taxes overall despite Liberal claims of offsetting tax cuts.

Third, it's not a very good idea. The tax will increase the cost of everything from heating and cooling to manufacturing and transportation of everything that we buy. That's why it's been called a tax on everything. Of course, the hardest hit businesses will be Canadian manufacturers that will have to pay a tax that none of their competitors have to pay. This comes at a time when the high Canadian dollar is already decimating the industry.

Finally, there couldn't be worse timing. A carbon tax might not always be a terrible idea, if oil drops to $20 a barrel and governments want to protect the environment by ensuring we don't needlessly pollute, go ahead introduce a carbon tax. Today the market is doing a fine job of encouraging energy efficiency and there's no need for a new tax to help. In fact a new tax now will just destroy the economy and cause untold hardship, everyone is reeling from the high cost of energy, we cannot afford to pay more.

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Canada has launched a so called 'truth and reconciliation' committee into Canada's residential schools. I'm a little apprehensive. The last time I heard about the issue several years ago, Canadian government lawyers had agreed to pay natives compensation for 'cultural genocide' and stuck churches with half the bill. Many Anglican, United, and Catholic churches were closed outright to pay for the bill. Now that the settlements are being paid out, alcohol and drug abuse has spiked again on reservations.

Don't get me wrong, there were documented cases of abuse, and those people should be pitied, apologized to and compensated. But, let's set the record straight, the teachers and religious that relocated to the remote reservations left everything out of an act of love and service to the native people. They sacrificed themselves to give the natives a better life. The only reason churches were likely involved is that nobody else would go and make that sacrifice.

Lorne Gunter, says give the commission a chance, I guess we don't have a choice. But I sincerely hope that five years from now we will see a balanced report that recognizes the selfless acts of service and doesn't simply create another opportunity to reinforce the native sense of victimhood.

Normally, I wouldn't care. First, I'm Conservative. Second, I'm Canadian. But I do care who wins the nomination for two reasons. I believe Hillary Clinton is the best candidate for President. Second, the President is still the leader of the free world, so every body cares.

Between Obama, Hillary, and McCain, I wanted Hillary to be the next President of the United States. My logic is simple Barrack Obama is an extreme left wing leader prone to making big mistakes; if Barrack Obama became President it will be dangerous for the whole world. John McCain would be a better President than Obama, and he has articulated some conservative positions such as appointing constitutionalist judges. However, with a democratic controlled he will almost certainly fall in line with the Democrats on every issue that matters.

Hillary, on the other hand, is pragmatic and adaptable enough to know where the American people stand, and I believe she would have used the office of President to more effectively control a democratic congress than John McCain could.

Hillary ran a decent campaign, especially in the last few months. I wish the results had been different.